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Saturday, 18 June 2016

The Olive Tree - a film review

Alma, a young Spanish woman is devastated by her grandfather's descent into taciturn dementia and is convinced that his decline is caused partly by the recent selling off (by his sons) of an ancient olive tree from the family's olive grove.

She finds out that a German 'sustainable energy ' company bought the tree and has installed it in the lobby of their headquarters in Dusseldorf. She persuades her Uncle and also Rafa (who I wasn't quite sure whether he was a cousin or a farm employee) to accompany her to Dusseldorf to reclaim the tree and bring it home to grandfather.

Along the way her mission becomes celebrated by a group of people who recognise that the German company is not as sustainable as they claim to be.

Can the trio rescue the tree in time to help grandfather regain his health?

This is a moving film about family and the traditional connections to the land and how one tree can become the symbol for an environmental protest.